Bizarre blotter: Potato shoots into home, old man hides sword in cane and other strange crimes

Today we learn that potato guns can be dangerous, canes can be used to conceal weapons, and that one alleged robber has a really unhealthy diet.

Not your average spud: Potato used as bullet, damages home

A potato launched through the exterior wall of a Pennsylvania home landed in a bedroom where two adults and a baby were sleeping, reports the York Daily Record. Three teens were arrested after grocery store video footage showed one of them purchasing two 5-pound bags of potatoes on Monday. Police say the teens, and a fourth suspect, used a potato gun to launch the spud at the home and at a minivan. The unusual weapon choice is resulting in some pretty serious charges against the young men -- Cody Cosgrove, 19; Dakota Falkenroth, 18; and John Whitecomb, 18 -- that range from aggravated assault to criminal conspiracy.

-- via the York Daily Record

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Not a great criminal plot: Guy steals phone, tries to sell it back to victim

It all started when a 19-year-old New York man was lured through Facebook into meeting a girl last Friday. Isaiah Bridges turned up instead, a 19-year-old that police say has a "pretty lengthy criminal history" for a guy his age. Bridges allegedly stole the other guy's phone, then got in touch with him and offered to sell the phone back to him. Police then used the same method -- luring via Facebook -- to get Bridges to show up at a location Monday, when he was promptly arrested. He's facing a variety of charges.

-- via the Troy Record

Old man uses sword hidden in cane to attack car door

You'll never look at a cane-wielding person the same way again. A 61-year-old California man is accused of concealing a sword in his cane and pulling it out during a road-rage incident on Friday. Sam Cangiamilla's alleged victim told police the incident started with Cangiamilla trying to block him from passing. When the two stopped at a red light, both exited their vehicles, and Cangiamilla apparently produced a sword from his cane. The victim got back into his car and Cangiamilla allegedly stabbed the man's door with the sword, though it did not penetrate the car's interior. Cangiamilla was later arrested at his home.

Hal Weston, a 46-year-old caregiver at Logan Regional Hospital in Utah, was terminated from his job after police say they witnessed him performing oral sex on a patient they brought in. The victim was brought to the hospital Jan. 20 after he passed out in a police cruiser and couldn't be woken up, reports the Huffington Post. Police left the "extremely intoxicated" man in Weston's care, behind a curtain. When one of the officers returned later to check on him, pulling back the curtain, Weston was "performing a sexual act on the unconscious man as he lay on the hospital bed," reported an ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City.

-- via the Huffington Post and ABC4

Not at all charming: Man uses love to bilk women out of thousands of dollars

At least eight women are out a total of about $300,000 after being duped by an alleged methamphetamine user who peddled himself as a rich, marriage-seeking diamond broker. "Women, mostly middle-age, vulnerable and seeking a relationship, fell for him," reported the Daily Breeze. Victims from across the country were talked into giving 52-year-old James Bruce Rice money to "invest" on the promise the funds would be used to "provide income when they were married," police said. They suspect there are more victims that have not been identified.

-- via the Daily Breeze

This guy really likes burgers and fries -- maybe too much

Manning Kilgore is not the smartest criminal nor will he be remembered for his healthy eating habits. After allegedly robbing the same house twice, with a partner -- one time getting away with a whole $2 -- his victims were able to identify him. "They recognized one of the males as Manny, who they know from McDonald's," police told a correspondent for the Delaware County Daily Times. "Officers went there and sure enough they found him sitting inside eating a Big Mac." Kilgore was arrested, jailed and will have a preliminary hearing on Feb. 6.